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I spent much of my life as a ballerina. I lived in a fantasy world of satin, lace, feathers, and sequins. A knee injury prevented me from realizing my dream of becoming a professional dancer and I was forced to pursue another career. I became a designer at a retail store which involved wearing beat-up clothes, lugging around merchandise, burning my hands on the hot lights, and crawling on the floor-not a way I ever thought I would spend five years of my life. However, the experience of making my first Lill purse changed all that. I chose to create a Carolyn and it was SO MUCH FUN! I felt like a woman again! I left the store feeling like a million bucks. It was just what I needed to remind myself of my true creative identity. I immediately went home and started pulling out my CDs, DVDs, and books to sell so I could use the money to makemore bags! And, yes, I have had just as much fun making my other LILL Bags as the first one. It made me realize that I could do better and, I have had the confidence to remove myself from that old job that was not a good fit and am working towards something that is just right for me. Thank you! –Kristina

A few years ago, my friends started a birthday tradition. For each friend's birthday we all contribute to the "Lill fund" which will purchase a gift certificate for the special birthday girl. We all then plan a day to go to the store to help each other make the bag of our dreams. It is such a fun tradition and a great way to celebrate our friendship. I love my ALLY and RENNY because I know that they have a little bit of each friend in them. I can't wait until my next birthday! Thanks 1154 Lill for helping us start this fun tradition. –Audrey

I love my Lill bag because it represents home to me. Just before my husband and I relocated to Seattle (which would be a great location for another boutique– hint, hint!), I went to the Chicago store to createa Polly that would arrive in Seattle after we moved sothat I could have a little reminder of home, andsomething a bit unique here in the emerald city. It reminds me of other trips to Lill with mom, with friends, and even a quiet day on my own taking all thetime in the world to make my bag. Nope, this is not my first Lill bag – but it’s now my favorite reminder of the city I grew up in, the city I call home, thecity where my gal pals reside, and of course the city that gave us 1154 Lill! –Andrea

I was a total tomboy for years... stuffing my wallet in the back pocket of my jeans and keys in the front, and of course REFUSING to carry a purse. With the addition of a cellphone, business cards, checkbook, and even lipgloss to the mix, it became time to cave and get a bag. I had heard about Lill from friends and figured the only way I would get into carrying a purse would be if I designed it myself exactly to my tastes. Well, it worked! I'm a total convert and carry my CAROLYN bag with me everywhere I go. I ended up loving two different fabric combinations and put one on the outside and the other on the inside, so I'm just as excited to look IN my new purse as I am with its look OUTSIDE. I think what I love the most is that my purse is unique and suits my style perfectly, even though I never thought a purse could... Here's the kicker: I'm saving up for my next one! I am evolving into a purse person but I only want to carry Lill bags that I design to match me and my crazy style. Thanks for existing! –Liza

I love my new Lill bag because it's fun to climb in and makes crinkly noises when I pat it. The red tissue paper is especially fun to play with but would be better if drool resistent. But WAIT! There's more...on top of all that... it came with this very hip Diana Diaper bag that Mommy uses to carry all of my goodies and a cute Joey photo book for pictures of me and my buddies.
Her new LILL bag makes her very happy--so I'm happy! – Campbell Claire, 6 months

Two weeks ago while visiting my daughter in Chicago, she told me she had a surprise for me. My daughter and I are extremely close and she always told me that when she graduated from college and got a good job, she would take me shopping for a change and buy me something special. Well, she took me to you shop and together we picked out fabrics to suit my personality and I made my own purse!!! I can't wait until it's finished so I can show it off to my friends but more importantly, it was one of those mother-daughter moments that I will cherish forever! – Debbie

My name is Betsy and I am 14 years old. My mom taught me how to sew one and a half years ago and it was a great bonding experience. Now I sew purses for my family and friends. 1154 LILL is an inspiration to me because it's such a cool idea and I want to design and make purses for my job when I am older. I want the $100 gift certificate because I love the styles and patterns and I want to have that bonding experience with my mom.
– Betsy

I have four LILL bags, and one bag holds a very special place in my heart. I had come to the store to make my bag and spent careful time planning every detail out. 4 anxious weeks later my bag had arrived and I went immediately after work to pick it up. 2 weeks later, while at the gym, my purse was stolen from my locker. Not only had my overstuffed wallet, new cell phone, car keys, my 1154 LILL makeup bag and everything else been stolen, but someone had run off with my NEW PURSE. I was more upset about my purse being stolen then anything else. The only saving grace was that if I ever saw a woman walking down the street with my purse, I knew I would discover the thief.Knowing how upset I was with my new purse being stolen, my boyfriend (now fiance) went immediately the next day to the studio. He had one of your employees look up my information and made the exact same purse (with the exception of the inside pocket, the fabric was no longer in stock). Everytime I look at my purse, I think of him and how that was one of the sweetest could have done to cheer me up. I love my purse! – Kira

What a great concept...creating your own handbag. What I love best about my reversible Polly is that mine is unique and no one else has one exactly like it. I feel that it is an extension of my personality and I am very proud to carry it around. Every year for my birthday, I get a new bag as a gift to myself. One of my favorite things about picking up my custom bag is that I try to find it on the wall before the sales girl does. It's a funny little game but it's exciting to me. Thank you for creating a great way to express ourselves! – Shannon

I swear, this company was created just for me!! I am a purse-a-holic, and thought that this concept was the greatest thing going. After 5 years, my boyfriend has caught on to the fact that i love purses so much and gave me a Lill gift certificate for receiving my Masters degree. Not only did he give me this great gift, but he also came with me to the Boston studio and helped me design my bag! I had a great time creating my one-of-a-kind masterpiece...and although he hates to admit it, my boyfriend did too! Now, i not only have a beautiful "Ally" to add to my wardrobe of purses, but I have some great memories--and a great secret i can use to blackmale my boyfriend!!!! – Kristen

Dear 1154 LILL! As a bag enthusiast and recent Chicago transplant I was thrilled to finally figure out where all the "fabulous bags with the little black tags" were coming from. As soon as I got off the UHaul in Chicagoland I started seeing your bags on the street, at the museum, out to dinner, and just about everywhere. Considering myself in the "handbag know" I couldn't figure out how I had missed your label until then. After unsuccessfully taking the "route du sleuth" (I'm sure a few girls thought I might be stalking them trying to follow close enough to make out the words on your tag) I finally broke down and asked a woman where all these fantastic bags were from. She told me all about your store and I made it in for my first Lill experience a few weeks ago - I had a ball designing my very own PAMELA (and my need for instant gratification was met by walking away with a couple ready made bags). I love my Lill Bag and am excited about my new favorite bag label!!!! Thanks for an inspiring experience! – Elizabeth

I love my 1154 LILL bag because of its uniqueness. There is no other bag like it! I bring PAMELA with me to and from work every day. The material patterns that I chose work well with all my outfits. My co-workers compliment PAMELA daily. Prior to PAMELA, I used to bring my purse, lunch and magazines all bagged separately to work. Thanks to PAMELA, bye bye bags!
–Sheila

I just received my custom KELLY and absolutely LOVE it! I loved the fabric so much I went ahead and ordered an AMY to match. As a graduate student, the KELLY is the perfect size to carry a couple of notebooks and has enough pockets for the essentials: keys, ID, pens, wallet, and cell phone! Because I live out of state I was worried about coordinating colors, but everyone at 1154 LILL was so accommodating and the fabrics shown online are an exact color match! I was so excited with how well my LILL bags came out that I decided to order a DIANA and am purchasing Gift Certificates for my friends and family so they can design their own as well. This has been such a wonderful experience so far and my LILL bags even arrived more than a week ahead of schedule - Thanks!!!
–Emily

I love my 1154 Lill ALLY bag because when I am having a poopy day, usually someone on the El, street, restaurant or even at work compliments me on what a cute purse I have! It always puts a smile on my face! And I always have such a thrill giving my 60-90 second 'info-commercial' about my purse (location, styles, prices, how much fun it is, how long it takes, etc). 1154 Lill is truly unique and I wish I could work at 1154 LILL I would be happy 110% of the time... but broke too! –Nicole

I love my Lill Ally bag because it allows me to be unique. I love coordinating outfits to wear with it (rather than coordinating a bag with an outfit) and I love seeing people walk by me and notice my bag. But, what I love most about it is that my new mother-in-law and I got to bond with each other while creating our bags. It was the first time that we were able to make a connection, and I have Lill to thank for that special new bond. Thanks Lill!!
–Jennifer J.

I love my LILL CARMEN bag because its stylish yet kid friendly! As soon as my 4 year old son saw those ouside pockets it was all over!! He wanted to see what he could stuff into them. So band-aids made it into one pocket and a pack of fruit snacks fit in the other. As hard as he tried a juice box just would not fit..... Thank god! So Will and I say thanks for the useful pockets!
–Christine D.

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view past entries for inspiration... 1,2,3 - more